St. George's West has produced some extremely tight races in recent general elections, with Kim Swan of the United Bermuda Party narrowly beating Dean Foggo of the Progressive Labour Party by just 17 votes in December 2007.

That marked a reversal in fortunes from 2003, when Mr. Foggo claimed a 22-vote victory over Mr. Swan.

Shortly after the 2007 election, Mr. Swan's political career took an unexpected twist when he was made the Leader of the UBP, whose previous head Michael Dunkley had dramatically lost against Patrice Minors of the PLP in Smith's North.

In Constituency Two, like the rest of St. George's, policing has been a bone of contention for residents for many years.

The closure of the York Street Police Station in early 2007 has led to frequent complaints, as well as promises from politicians that it will reopen.

That seems unrealistic, however, with Police chiefs saying the new Southside Police Station can provide ample coverage from a few minutes away, while stressing officers on the streets are more important than the opening of a physical building.

The area was in the news last June, when the usually quiet Hidden Valley neighbourhood saw a hostage situation, with armed Police locked in a six-hour stand-off with a wanted man who barricaded himself in his house.

Violence has also marred two major sporting events at Wellington Oval in recent years, including bottle-throwing at last year's Cup Match, and an infamous fight among machete-wielding football supporters in 2004.